“To be completely blunt and honest, I haven’t watched the season since the first episode,” said Land, during an interview with FightLine. “That’s been due to my schedule and the fact that it’s frustrating to watch. I get phone calls and texts from family and friends complaining about the male fighter side of the show to me.

“It is crazy that two contestants haven’t made weight and frustrating because I almost was in those shoes. I obviously am not in their position and am not in any position to judge, but at the same time, I feel like in my heart I would show up, make weight and fight my ass off because of what’s at stake for the show.”

Land has been forced to take on a part-time job to keep up with bills after having several fighters agree to bouts – only to pull out soon after.

“I’m just taking my career one fight at a time,” he said. “I’m thankful for where I’m at and where I’m heading. I’m very grateful for my friends, roommates, family, sponsors and my gym, Premier Combat Center.

“My coaching staff (Kurt Podany, Danny Molina, Ryan Jensen, Jason Brilz) are great and I couldn’t ask for better teammates or coaches. I’m learning every day and fine-tuning.”

Since trying out for TUF, Land’s manager has kept in contact with the UFC. All 10 of his career wins have been stoppage victories, including nine via submission – eight of them of the armbar variety, meaning he would have been a perfect selection for UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey on the reality series.

“My manager has spoke with the UFC and they told him to keep me active and get cage time so that is what I’m trying to do,” Land said.

“I tried to use social media as a resource to see if I could get the Bollinger fight for WSOF, but they lined him up against someone else,” Land stated. “It’s frustrating, but that’s the name of the game I suppose.”

Land also knows that getting his name out of the Midwest and on other promotional shows is key, saying “I really don’t care if I’m fighting in front of 300 or 3,000 people; I would like to stay active and am enjoying the chase I guess, so to speak!”